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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

On January 17th, after sentencing, Defense attorney F. Montgomery Brown told reporters Sorenson wouldn't appeal the ruling. "He'll take it like a man."
Brown said. Two weeks later, Sorensen notified the court he was appealing his sentence to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sorenson got up to 15 months in a federal slammer for violation of federal election law and obstruction of justice; he had copped a plea, ratting out Ron Paul operatives who secretly and illegally funneled $73,000 his way to persuade him to quit Michele Bachmann's campaign and join theirs.)
U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt called the former Republican lawmaker's crimes "the definition of
political corruption. Sorenson's family begged to disagree:

...members
of Sorenson's family became visibly upset and angry. "Are you happy
now?" one of his sisters said to reporters in the courtroom when Pratt
made his ruling. Two women who identified themselves as Sorenson's
daughters shouted obscenities at journalists waiting outside the
building to speak with their father, and one attempted to block a
television camera with her body asSorenson exited.

...The Hyde Amendment already prohibits federal funds from being used
for most abortions, but this legislation would bar low-income women who
rely on Medicaid and Title X funding for subsidized care from obtaining
other women's health care services at Planned Parenthood... The bill text
explains that other entities, including "state and county health
departments, community health centers, [and] hospitals," will be able to
fill women's health care needs, including contraception, STI testing,
and cervical and breast cancer screening. Many health experts say other
health providers would not be able to absorb Planned Parenthood's
patients. An analysis
conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, which publishes research on
reproductive health, found that in two-thirds of the counties that have a
Planned Parenthood center, these centers serve at least half of the
women seeking publicly funded contraceptive care. In one-fifth of those
counties, Planned Parenthood is the only provider offering subsidized
contraceptive care.
"If passed, these bills will cause a national health care crisis,
leaving millions with nowhere to go for basic care," said Dana Singiser,
vice president of public policy and government affairs for the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement...

Sunday, January 29, 2017

This is from a spreadsheet on the stance of every senator on Trump's legal attack on immigrants, the link to which was tweeted by Will and Grace star Debra Messing. Thanks Deb Messing! Thanks for nothing, Deb Fischer

Today's protest, with maybe a couple hundred, had mostly dissipated by the time AKSARBENT arrived, but we snapped one picture emblematic of the simmering anger, indignation and empathy felt by so many toward Trump and his cowardly mute GOP enablers. (Locally, that would be you, Senator Fischer (@SenatorFischer), Representatives Adrian Smith (@RepAdrianSmith) and DonBacon (@RepDonBacon), and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert (@Jean_Stothert)

Before Comcast agreed to carry the ad, Karger had to change the line which asserted that the Mormon Church has over a trillion bucks in assets. Below is the unedited version of the ad, which has yet to appear. The Mormon Church stopped disclosing complete financial information in the U.S. in 1959.
In the 70s, a friend of AKSARBENT worked in the stock transfer office of PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) in San Francisco during an offering made to stockholders. He told us that the ledger card bundle/s with records of LDS holdings in the utility were so thick that the rubber bands kept breaking. Each ledger card held 20 entries on each side and each LDS entry was 100 shares. In 2004, the Mormon church owned about 270,000 acres of Nebraska, in five Sandhills counties, second only to the ranch holdings of communications magnate Ted Turner.
Britain's Daily Mail, a tabloid not particularly renowned for its accuracy, asserts that the church pulls in 76 billion a year.

Friday, January 27, 2017

AKSARBENT wasn't a bit surprised by the winner: the just-announced Panasonic Lumix GH5, latest incarnation of what has become a cult among electronic moviemakers, starting with the eminently hackable GH2. First looks from the reviewers here and here. The thing shoots broadcast quality 4:2:2 video internally, which is a big deal. It also has 5-axis image stabilization built in, so who needs a Steadicam, huh?

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

America's television sweetheart died Wednesday at 80. She was almost as much fun as is Julie Andrews (who once put a "Mary Poppins is a junkie" bumper sticker on her car.) In the clip below she explains why she would never be seen in a Rob Reiner film (6:36 mark) and then got her friend and costar, Dick Van Dyke, good by telling a wickedly funny (and outrageously false) story about him. (7:55 mark).

"Imagine a new path forward,” a narrator says over images of happy families and smiling doctors, not to mention Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). “Health insurance that provides more choices and better care at lower costs, a system that puts patients and doctors in charge, that provides peace of mind to people with preexisting conditions, and paves the way for new cures by eliminating senseless regulations. House Republicans have a plan to get there without disrupting existing coverage, giving your family the health care it deserves.

House Republicans haven't advanced any such plan, but the ad is running in Omaha on WOWT targeting new GOP Rep. Don Bacon. It's also running (till the end of January) in the districts of GOP Reps. Rod Blum (Iowa), Mike Coffman (Colo.), Barbara Comstock (Va.), Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), Jeff Denham (Calif.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Bob Goodlatte (Va.), Will Hurd (Texas), Darrell Issa (Calif.), Steve Stivers (Ohio), Mac Thornberry (Texas), Patrick J. Tiberi (Ohio), David Valadao (Calif.) and Greg Walden (Ore.)
The million-dollar compaign comes from The American Action Network, a 501(c)(4) group affiliated with the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC and run by key GOP establishment figures, according to the Washington Post.
The TV ad promotes a website, www.abetterhealthcareplan.com.
Go there, and you'll see a video of the same broadcast TV ad, followed by this:

House Republicans have a plan to get thereOur Congress is fighting for us: lowering costs, providing more control and more choices to pick a plan that meets our needs, not a plan that Washington
mandates.

Alongside the above, a form to collect details about you (your name, email address, and zip code) as well as a button labeled "I'm in."What you won't see is a single detail about the famously nonexistant GOP substitute for Obamacare.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Looks like Trump enablers like Mayor Jean Stothert and Senator Deb Fischer have a party problem, doesn't it?
Memo to KETV, Omaha's "news leader": when a $500 Canon camcorder takes better night video than the uncharacteristically lousy footage you aired of the march, you have a technology problem. (KETV's video of the march was so bad the station evidently didn't post any of it on YouTube or its website, even though it was the biggest news of the day in Omaha. KETV's video, taken during the day, is uniformly excellent; the station needs to figure out how to get better night video.)

Saturday, January 21, 2017

AKSARBENT recorded the ENTIRETY of today's Women's March on Omaha as it snaked through the Old Market.
If you marched, you're probably in the video. We hope to have the whole thing up by midnight or so. If not, check back tomorrow Tuesday (but not early!)UPDATE: Even though the complete video isn't up yet, we posted another, better excerpt than the one below, here.Our estimate of the crowd was (conservatively) between 6720 and 9580. We arrived at that seat-of-the-pants reckoning by noting that as the marchers turned north on Howard onto 11th, they were funneled into the comparatively narrow space between reconstruction of the M's building and one of the Old Market's big circular planters on the east side of 11th, accommodating about 10 people abreast, more or less. The crowd's density was surprisingly uniform, and we guessed 2-3 seconds, on average, for each group of 10 to turn onto 11th, depending on the speed of the crowd, which waxed and waned. We counted the seconds in the video in which people were actually exiting the video frame and used that for our rough calculation.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Michelle and Barrack will stay at Ichpa Mayapan, the 3-bedroom, 4.5 bath, 8-acre, 11,000 sq. ft. Palm Springs retreat of WH decorator Michael S. Smith and his partner, James Costos, the U.S. ambassador to Spain and
Andorra and a former HBO honcho who has raised a lot of money for Obama. They bought the Mayan fantasia, built in 1970, as a "maintenance-deferred" property for a weekend retreat. At the top is the listing video; at right a view of what it looks like now.
The property also includes a corral, a 2-bedroom, 2-bath guest house and housing for eight vehicles.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

"Bullshit! If you think, Senator, that handing over this country to the puppet of Vladmir Putin should be celebrated and should be a peaceful transfer of power, you are not only not loyal to this country but you know nothing about John Lewis. If you think Senator, that we will let you or anybody else normalize the transfer of power to a racist, seemingly psychotic Russian plant, perhaps you should look again at how heroes like John Lewis responded the last time the white supremacists of this country insisted this was about power and that we must all accept its use, and its misuse, peacefully."

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Mean Streets Omaha (@MeanStreetsOMA) wasn't fooled by Jean Stothert's blatantly false disinformation about the consequences of outsourcing to an out-of-state answering service calls to Public Works requesting salt or sand to trouble spots during Sunday/Monday's ice storm. (@MeanStreetsOMA now has more than 90,000 followers.)

From @JaneKleeb of BoldNebraska we learn that all three Sheridan County, NE Commissioners voted to recommend renewing liquor licenses of four stores which sell the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer per year in Whiteclay, NE, population, 12.
South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is dry, is 24 miles away. After the hearing, Commissioner James Krotz (308 327-2110) thanked everyone for their civility. The other commissioners are Jack Andersen (308 762-1784) and Loren Paul (308 360-1397)
From the Sheridan County Journal Star:

“We have tribal laws and we do not allow alcohol. It is a dry
reservation,” said Bryan Brewer, president of the Oglala Lakota County
Schools school board and former tribal president. “We know what it does
to our people. Yet right on the border of the state of Nebraska sells
alcohol, which is tearing our people up.” ...Another testifier compared selling Native Americans beer to giving a suicidal neighbor a razor blade, noose or gun. ...Beyond the alcoholism occurring in
Whiteclay and the Pine Ridge reservation, murders and prostitution also
happen. Kim Greager of Rapid City, S.D. told the commissioners how
people sell their bodies for five dollars to buy four cans of high
octane beer. “If it was happening to white people, would you guys let
this happen for so many decades?” asked Greager.

To be sure, the tribe needs to and has
tried to address alcoholism and related problems on the reservation, but
arguing that prohibition in Whiteclay would not be a step forward
toward a solution is reprehensible.

In
making their decision, the commissioners also ignored indisputable
evidence that adequate law enforcement is absent in Whiteclay, where
there has been a handful of unsolved deaths in recent years. Instead,
they argued that county taxpayers shouldn’t be required to pick up the
tab for more and better policing.

...The [Nebraska] Liquor Control
Commission should do the right thing, what Sheridan County refused to
do: Deny the licenses, shut down the stories and cut off the easy flow
of alcohol onto the reservation.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

The rationale: South Dakota's legislature, through Joint Rule 1A-4, already prohibits "sexual harrassment."
The counter argument: Senator Brock Greenfield (R-2/Clark) said that if the code
of conduct can spell out sexual harassment, it can spell out sexual
contact.
From the Dakota Free Press:

LB243, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, which would require reporting of certain information concerning assaults that occur in state institutions;LB251,
sponsored by Omaha Sen. Burke Harr, which would redefine agricultural
and horticultural land for revenue and taxation purposes;LB256, sponsored by Albion Sen. Tom Briese, which would adopt the Vacant Property Registration Act;LB267, sponsored by Elkhorn Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, which would change provisions relating to onsite vaccinations;LB277, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, which would change population requirements for election precincts;LB279, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Robert Hilkemann, which would require lap-shoulder belts on school buses as prescribed;LB289,
sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, which would change
provisions and penalties relating to pandering, human trafficking, labor
trafficking and sex trafficking and prohibit solicitation of a
trafficking victim;LB290,
sponsored by Omaha Sen. Tony Vargas, which would provide for voter
registration upon application for driver’s license, state identification
card or certain benefits;LB291, sponsored by O’Neill Sen. Tyson Larson, which would adopt the Special Economic Impact Zone Act; andLB294,
sponsored by Papillion Sen. Jim Smith, which would provide for a
reciprocity agreement with a foreign country for mutual recognition of
motor vehicle operator licenses.
A complete list of bills introduced thus far is available at NebraskaLegislature.gov. New bills may be introduced for the first 10 legislative days, or until Jan. 18.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

From Unicameral Update:
Among the 67 bills introduced were:LB167, sponsored by Crete Sen. Laura Ebke, which would include cannabidiol as a Schedule V controlled substance;LB169, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, which would exempt social security benefits and retirement income from income taxation;LB178, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, which would provide for sexual assault protection orders;LB181,
sponsored by Grand Island Sen. Dan Quick, which would provide for
reimbursement to employees for certain medical examinations under the
Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act;LB197, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Rick Kolowski, which would provide for electronic application for an early voting ballot;LB202,
sponsored by Kearney Sen. John Lowe, which would create the offense of
obstructing government operations by refusing to submit to a chemical
test authorized by search warrant;LB212, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Matt Hansen, which would adopt the In the Line of Duty Compensation Act;LB214, sponsored by Hastings Sen. Steve Halloran, which would terminate the Master Teaching Program;LB216, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Burke Harr, which would adopt the Redistrict Act; andLB227, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Anna Wishart, which would create the Brain Injury Council and Brain Injury Trust Fund.
A complete list of bills introduced thus far is available at NebraskaLegislature.gov. New bills may be introduced for the first 10 legislative days, or until Jan. 18.

Later in their interview, Meyers cornered Conway in regards to a widely-ridiculed comment she made on CNN
earlier this week about how the media covers Trump. "You always want to
go by what's come out of his mouth rather than look at what's in his
heart," she told New Day host Chris Cuomo. "So you think it's not
important to listen to what he's saying?" Meyers asked her. "How can we
know what's in his heart?"

"He expresses it—" she began, at which point he interrupted her. "He expresses it how?" Meyers asked. "Out of his mouth."

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Last night's Nightly Business Report, hardly a beacon of liberal agitprop, contained several shocking statistics about how dependent the farm economy is on undocumented labor and what Donald Trump's deportation plans could do to farm production. Below is a transcript excerpt, highlighted. Go to NBR to watch the show (skip to the 21:43 mark):

...ROY: The Aiellos don`t have enough workers to harvest crops. They`re not alone. Across the country, farmers are facing a labor shortage that some are calling a crisis. AIELLO: Of course, it`s a financial burden. You have to make difficultdecisions sometimes as far as having two fields to harvest but only beingable to harvest one of them. ROY: Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan immigration reform group, reports between 2002 and 2014, the number of full time agricultural workers has dropped by 146,000 people, resulting in a loss of about $3 billion in crop productions. And the American Farm Bureau Federation has come out with videos showing farmers forced to destroy crops or let them rot in the fields because they simply don`t have enough workers to pick them. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last year, I had to do something I had never done before. Destroy ten acres of good squash. ROY: And now, some farmers are worried the problem will get even worse if Donald Trump makes good on his campaign promise to deport undocumented workers. DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: We are going to triple the number of ICE deportation officers. ROY: More than half of the country`s agricultural workers are undocumented, according to the USDA. The American Farm Bureau estimates an immigration policy that focuses solely on enforcement could cost the country $60 billion in agricultural production...

Every committee is now chaired by a Republican, except Laura Ebke, the new Judiciary Committe Chair, who left the GOP after Gov. Ricketts attacked her in a speech for voting to abolish the death penalty in Nebraska.

Following the 2016 legislative session, Ricketts addressed a state
Republican convention, criticizing several Republican state legislators
for failing to support his position on various issues, and calling for
the election of more "platform Republicans" to the legislature. Ebke was
one of thirteen legislators who signed a letter criticizing Ricketts
for conduct that they described as placing partisanship ahead of
principle. Shortly thereafter, Ebke changed her registration from the
Republican to the Libertarian Party. She was thought to be the first Libertarian member of the Nebraska legislature.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that boycotts are an expression of free speech. Yet state after state, pressured by Israel-firsters, has passed legislation denying government contracts (via blacklists) to private businesses which refuse to do business with Israel until it stops its illegal settlements in occupied territory. Depending on who you believe, these settlements already house 300,000 to 600,000 Israelis. Recently, the Obama administration, for the first time, refused to use its Security Council veto to prevent the U.N. from condemning Israel's longstanding policy.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Less than a month ago, Stothert loudly proclaimed that she was appointing an LGBT "Advisory Board" whose members would be finalized by the end of the year and would issue an executive order regarding LGBTs. (Which would be what? Move across the river to Council Bluffs, IA where LGBTs have housing rights?
Because Stothert voted against Omaha's ordinance mandating equal employment opportunity for LGBTs in employment (but not housing) and supports antigay Gov.
Ricketts as well as antigay Attorney General Doug Peterson and has towed the
Nebraska GOP's party line of blocking every legitimate attempt by LGBTs
to attain fair treatment in housing, employment and marriage, some people say the LGBT "Advisory Board" is just a reelection year ploy.
Anyway, it's 2017. So who are the LGBT "Advisory Board" members and what's in the executive order, Jean?Anti-gay Omaha mayor, a BS genius, claims SCOTUS marriage ruling "allows" city to offer health benefits to gay couples

Covergirl Jean Stothert

Now that the Supreme Court has forced her to, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert will finally "sign an executive order Tuesday that will
provide health benefits to the same-sex spouses of eligible full-time
employees of the city," reports KETV.
Stothert, who is a disinformation genius, said:

The Supreme Court decision allows the city to offer these
benefits to all employees and their same-sex spouses without
negotiating. I believe it is important to act quickly
and appropriately following the Supreme Court decision.

Translation: If I stall any longer, the city will be sued by married gay couples, so it's important to act quickly, now that my little con is up.
The World-Herald put it this way:

The City of Omaha will offer health insurance benefits to all married same-sex spouses of city employees after being one of the last local holdouts on the issue. Mayor Jean Stothert previously argued that city employees should bring up the issue during contract negotiations if they wanted such benefits.

Translation: Even though my administration could have done this unilaterally, like La Vista, Bellevue, Douglas County, Sarpy County, OPS, Creighton, University of Nebraska, the VA Medical Center, Methodist Health System and Alegent/Creighton/CHI, and even though Blue Cross Blue Shield changed its definition of spouse to include same-sex couples last year after the DOMA/Windsor decision, it was more fun to me to ransom benefits for gay employees in exchange for other concessions in labor negotiations because that's how homophobic, divide-and-conquer GOP politicians roll!

Below: Mayor Stothert when she was a City Council member, opposing a gay rights ordinance in Omaha shortly before being outvoted. Hey kids! Here's how to rip off the Jean Stothert video below from AKSARBENT for your facebook page or blog: Just cut and paste the YouTube code below to your facebook page or website (no autoplay or ads):

Maynard (Bob "Gilligan's Island" Denver) slyly flashes a nipple to the CBS eye while trying to talk his best buddy Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hick­man) into taking off all his clothes. Whoever said 1950s television was a vast waste­land obviously didn't know where to look.